At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, top technology executives and global leaders acknowledged India’s rapidly growing role in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, suggesting the country is now poised to become a global powerhouse in AI adoption and innovation. Industry figures highlighted India’s massive scale, expanding talent pool, and robust digital infrastructure as key drivers of its leadership potential, moving beyond its traditional identity as just a software services hub to a centre for large-scale AI deployment and development.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said India has all the ingredients to be a full-stack leader in AI, noting that it is one of the fastest-growing markets for AI use, with hundreds of millions of users engaging with AI tools weekly and strong momentum in adoption and innovation. Altman emphasised that India’s scale and dynamism make it a major force shaping the future of global AI technologies.
Executives from other major global tech firms echoed this sentiment. Meta’s Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, described India as a critical region where advanced AI technologies can scale quickly, while Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm said India’s capabilities could power global innovation. Google’s Sundar Pichai and DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis also reaffirmed their companies’ long-term commitments to the Indian AI ecosystem and called India a future AI powerhouse with influence across sectors.
India’s emergence in the AI field was also recognised for its potential societal impact. Leaders noted that India’s approach to AI — which combines broad digital adoption with solutions tailored to local needs — could help develop models and systems that work globally, especially in emerging markets. With strategic partnerships, investment commitments, and innovation at scale, India’s AI agenda is seen not just as domestically transformative but as exerting global influence on how AI is adopted, deployed, and governed.
